Every once in a while you get really, really lucky. Sunday was one of those days.
I'd been back in Utah for just a few weeks when I received an invitation to return to LA for a workshop. I'd already begun to experience ocean withdrawal, so I decided to fly out a day early and search for blue whales. Blue whales are not only the largest whales in the world, but also the largest animals of any kind that have ever lived. In the last few years, blue whales have been visiting southern Calfornia waters from roughly August through October, unfortunately right after I had to leave CA. [Aside: I think I actually did spot a blue whale before I left CA, but I'll leave that story for another blog post.] The invitation to return to LA in September presented a welcome opportunity to try to see them!
So, this past Sunday I once again drove to my beloved Palos Verdes whale watching site with my trusty binoculars in tow, albeit this time in a rental car.
I didn't see any blue whales. Not one. But in a surprising turn of events, 4 humpback whales decided to spend the day feeding in the waters off Palos Verdes, right in front of the whale watching station! They were there when I arrived at 1:00pm and they were still there when I left at 6:30pm. Humpback whales are known to live in California waters, but as far as I know, there isn't much regularity as to when and where they will show up. You just have to get lucky to see them.
My first key sighting of the day wasn't a whale, but a boat. During the past year, I learned to recognize many telltale signs of whale activity, including water spouts ("blows"), the sun sparkling off whale backs, and the presence of whale watching boats! Almost immediately after I arrived, I identified what I thought was a whale watching boat and noticed that, curiously, it wasn't moving. Had they spotted something? All the passengers were standing on one side of the boat, so I stared intently at the water on that side and, sure enough, I soon saw some blows. Several experienced whale observers also happened to be at Palos Verdes this day, and they identified the whales as 2 humpbacks, probably a cow/calf pair. A short while later, we noticed blows coming from the opposite side of the ocean as well, which turned out to be a second pair of humpacks. For the entire afternoon, the ocean was alive with whale spouts, sometimes from the pair of humpacks toward the south, and sometimes from the pair of humpbacks toward the north. I could frequently see their backs when they dove down to feed, and I got one good look at a fluke!
Being a terrestrial species, I tend to think of the ocean as a 2-dimensional space, but of course it is 3-dimensional. There are trenches and canyons along the ocean floor where sea life changes dramatically (e.g., the Redondo Canyon). On this day, I learned that knowledge of the ocean's topology can also be valuable clues for whale watchers. The whale observers informed me that the humpbacks were diving along "trench lines" in the ocean, which are locations where both humpbacks and blue whales can frequently be seen feeding.
So ... for a brief 1-day stint back in Palos Verdes when I thought it would be a longshot to see any whales at all, I had 5.5 hours of continuous humpack whale watching. Plus, the ocean was teeming with dolphins! Four different pods of common dolphin passed by on this sunny September afternoon. Now that's what I call lucky.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
La Brea Tar Pits
In the middle of downtown Los Angeles there is a site eerily reminiscent of Jurrasic Park -- a true Jurrasic Park and not Hollywood fiction. Amid the tall buildings, small shops, and busy traffic of the city of Los Angeles lies Hancock Park, which harbors a startling collection of hot, bubbling naturally occurring tar pits. When you enter the park, it takes a moment for your senses to adjust to the stunning contrast between the urban chaos that is modern Los Angeles and this lush green park that is filled with bubbling cauldrons of goo, evoking images of Yellowstone National Park and wild lands of long ago.
The La Brea Tar Pits are estimated to be about 40,000 years old, and over the years a great many ancient animals got entrapped in the tar and died. Consequently, the bones of many varieties of ancient animals have been nearly perfectly preserved in the tar, providing a wealth of fossils for eager scientists to study. The museum makes a point of noting that no dinosaurs were found here, but only prehistoric mammals of more recent ancient times. The tar pits are fascinating to look at, and Hancock Park also contains the Page Museum, which displays many of the fossils that have been discovered in the tar pits, along with much historical and geological information about the area. The museum is wonderful and has many interesting fossils, including huge ground sloths, California camels, sabertoothed cats, and an amazing wall of over 400 skulls of dire wolves (illustrating how much variation there is even among members of the same species). For anyone planning to visit, it is also worth noting that the museum gives free admission to students and also teachers (including professors :). This place is a "must see" if you're in Los Angeles!
Pictures can be found here. (The pictures at the end are from a beautiful pond filled with turtles and koi that is inside the museum. I have no idea why it is there, except maybe to balance all the dead animal karma with a few live animals. :)
The La Brea Tar Pits are estimated to be about 40,000 years old, and over the years a great many ancient animals got entrapped in the tar and died. Consequently, the bones of many varieties of ancient animals have been nearly perfectly preserved in the tar, providing a wealth of fossils for eager scientists to study. The museum makes a point of noting that no dinosaurs were found here, but only prehistoric mammals of more recent ancient times. The tar pits are fascinating to look at, and Hancock Park also contains the Page Museum, which displays many of the fossils that have been discovered in the tar pits, along with much historical and geological information about the area. The museum is wonderful and has many interesting fossils, including huge ground sloths, California camels, sabertoothed cats, and an amazing wall of over 400 skulls of dire wolves (illustrating how much variation there is even among members of the same species). For anyone planning to visit, it is also worth noting that the museum gives free admission to students and also teachers (including professors :). This place is a "must see" if you're in Los Angeles!
Pictures can be found here. (The pictures at the end are from a beautiful pond filled with turtles and koi that is inside the museum. I have no idea why it is there, except maybe to balance all the dead animal karma with a few live animals. :)
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Earthquake
I stayed in Los Angeles just long enough to experience my first major earthquake! I was at home packing boxes when the floor began to shake. At first, the shaking was light and I thought that a big truck must have rumbled by. But then, very suddenly, the shaking became much more intense. The whole building began to sway, and I knew instantly that this was an earthquake!
When the shaking intensified, both of my cats jerked their heads up, eyes wide with fear, and dove under the nearest piece of furniture. I was surprised to see how frightened they were. I confess, I was pretty frightened too. I stood under a doorway that was relatively far away from the sliding glass doors and waited for the shaking to stop (it lasted about 20-30 seconds). You could literally feel the building rocking back and forth, and there were a host of strange, creaking noises.
I happened to be watching the local news on TV at the time, and they instantly showed a seismograph on the screen. The news anchors were matter-of-fact in their reporting: "Apparently we are experiencing an earthquake. And it's a big earthquake. Our KABC seismograph says it's a 5.8." (It was later officially declared to be a 5.4 magnitude quake.) You know you must be in California when the local news channels have their own seismograph screens ready to display on a moment's notice!
Experiencing an earthquake was different than I thought it would be. Feeling the building move was definitely scary -- no doubt about it. But the period after the shaking stopped was equally scary! Why? Because everyone knows that there are usually aftershocks. And there's always the possibility that the original quake was just a warm-up act for an even bigger one. So while the initial quake is a complete surprise, afterwards you live with the immediate anticipation of more earthquakes to follow in the next few hours and possibly even days. The seismologists on the news kept reminding everyone to be
prepared for aftershocks for the next 24-72 hours. The local news reported every aftershock all afternoon, showing the seismograph readings as they happened. It's unreal to watch a seismograph recording a tremor as it's happening, even when it's far enough away that you can't feel it. Knowing that aftershocks were continuing all through the day was unnerving.
An interesting experience, to be sure, though one I hope to never experience again! Unfortunately, Utah is overdue for a big one as well...
When the shaking intensified, both of my cats jerked their heads up, eyes wide with fear, and dove under the nearest piece of furniture. I was surprised to see how frightened they were. I confess, I was pretty frightened too. I stood under a doorway that was relatively far away from the sliding glass doors and waited for the shaking to stop (it lasted about 20-30 seconds). You could literally feel the building rocking back and forth, and there were a host of strange, creaking noises.
I happened to be watching the local news on TV at the time, and they instantly showed a seismograph on the screen. The news anchors were matter-of-fact in their reporting: "Apparently we are experiencing an earthquake. And it's a big earthquake. Our KABC seismograph says it's a 5.8." (It was later officially declared to be a 5.4 magnitude quake.) You know you must be in California when the local news channels have their own seismograph screens ready to display on a moment's notice!
Experiencing an earthquake was different than I thought it would be. Feeling the building move was definitely scary -- no doubt about it. But the period after the shaking stopped was equally scary! Why? Because everyone knows that there are usually aftershocks. And there's always the possibility that the original quake was just a warm-up act for an even bigger one. So while the initial quake is a complete surprise, afterwards you live with the immediate anticipation of more earthquakes to follow in the next few hours and possibly even days. The seismologists on the news kept reminding everyone to be
prepared for aftershocks for the next 24-72 hours. The local news reported every aftershock all afternoon, showing the seismograph readings as they happened. It's unreal to watch a seismograph recording a tremor as it's happening, even when it's far enough away that you can't feel it. Knowing that aftershocks were continuing all through the day was unnerving.
An interesting experience, to be sure, though one I hope to never experience again! Unfortunately, Utah is overdue for a big one as well...
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Back in Utah
Alas, my sabbatical is over. [sniff] I recently drove back to Utah, which was a 2-day trek with a midpoint in Las Vegas. I would prefer to forget the first leg of the journey, which was bumper-to-bumper traffic for the first 3-4 hours. I hate to brag, but it takes an undeniable talent, and an astonishing level of stupidity, to unintentionally yet willingly embark on a road trip that requires traveling across the entire width of the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area at exactly the beginning of rush hour. Yes, that's right, I started my journey from the west side of Los Angeles at 4pm on a Friday. It doesn't get any dumber than that. ;)
However the second leg of the journey was a wonderful drive. Once you leave the brown and desolate land known as Nevada, the rest of the scenery through Arizona and southern Utah is gorgeous. Even along the highway, you drive alongside Joshua trees, rock formations, brilliant red cliffs, and finally the majestic Rocky Mountains.
My sabbatical was outstanding. The work environment and people at ISI were terrific. And I had a blast exploring the LA area and coastline. When I arrived back in Utah, I felt like I was returning from a year-long vacation. Indeed, my apartment in Marina del Rey always felt like a hotel to me. So I am very sad that my sabbatical is over. [sniff] But there is something nice about coming home.
I had quite a few adventures in California that I have not yet blogged about because things got crazy busy toward the end. So this blog will remain active for a while longer until I clear out my backlog of stories and photos. Stay tuned...
However the second leg of the journey was a wonderful drive. Once you leave the brown and desolate land known as Nevada, the rest of the scenery through Arizona and southern Utah is gorgeous. Even along the highway, you drive alongside Joshua trees, rock formations, brilliant red cliffs, and finally the majestic Rocky Mountains.
My sabbatical was outstanding. The work environment and people at ISI were terrific. And I had a blast exploring the LA area and coastline. When I arrived back in Utah, I felt like I was returning from a year-long vacation. Indeed, my apartment in Marina del Rey always felt like a hotel to me. So I am very sad that my sabbatical is over. [sniff] But there is something nice about coming home.
I had quite a few adventures in California that I have not yet blogged about because things got crazy busy toward the end. So this blog will remain active for a while longer until I clear out my backlog of stories and photos. Stay tuned...
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Fireworks
I spent July 4th recovering from paper deadline hell with my ISI colleagues at Burton Chace Park in Marina del Rey, which puts on a nice fireworks display over the water in the marina. Very enjoyable. Click here to judge for yourself how successful (or not) I was at photographing fireworks.
Not California
(or: Columbus Zoo)
I had to attend a conference in Columbus, Ohio recently, so I stayed an extra day to see the Columbus zoo. My guidebook claimed that it has one of the best reptile collections in the U.S, and that's all I needed to hear. :) The conference banquet was held at the zoo a few days before my planned visit, and I began to worry that I'd made a mistake. The zoo is poorly laid out, and the map is atrocious, so the zoo seemed ordinary at first glance. But the zoo did live up to expectations! The reptile collection truly was outstanding, and I fell in love with an extremely active and photogenic Mexican Beaded Lizard. The Komodo dragon exhibit was the best I've seen (and I've seen many Komodo dragon exhibits :) with a huge 3-dimensional outdoor enclosure. I watched a beautiful dragon take a leisurely stroll tongue-flicking through the grass before climbing up a rocky ledge to bask in the sun. I felt as though I was watching a dragon in the wild! The animal enclosures were unusually spacious, and the zoo has an eclectic variety of animals (especially since it isn't all that big, though it isn't small), so the high proportion of exotic animals is what stands out.
The most special exhibit was a pair of manatees. Manatees are such utterly improbable animals. They look like they couldn't possibly survive in the wild (well, I guess they aren't doing a particularly good job of it, but only because of people). One of the manatees was rescued by Sea World personnel after a boat mangled her tail, and many surgeries were performed to save her. Manatees usually rely on their extraordinarily powerful tails to propel them through the water and they don't use their flippers much, but a zookeeper pointed out that if you watch the injured manatee you can see that she uses her flippers a lot more than her companion. When I asked if they are smart, the keeper said she didn't know but that she'd observed one adult manatee help nudge a reluctant baby manatee into the bigger tank with the adults. I also watched one manatee seemingly groom the other.
I struck up a conversation with the orangutan keeper as well. I'd heard that orangutans were extremely intelligent and legendary escape artists who had been known to pick locks. The keeper more than confirmed what I'd heard. She said that she regularly finds straw in the locks of their enclosure (!), and that in her opinion the orangutans are the smartest of all the apes. The other apes (e.g., chimps) are easily distracted (e.g., by a noise or something shiny). But not the orangutans -- when they work on a task, their attention stays focused and they will persist. They have incredible memories and will come back to things later. And they learn extremely fast -- can pick up a new word in just 2 days.
And you gotta love this story. The orangutans like to bring sticks into their indoor enclosure and hide them in their "loft". If the keepers leave anything outside the door of their cage, the orangutans will wait until the keeper has gone, use the stick to pull the item into their enclosure, and then stash it away in their loft. Their favorite items are garden hoses! When they want to have fun, they bring the stolen garden hose down from the loft and display it to a keeper. The annoyed zookeeper then painstakingly pulls the hose through the bars of the cage -- this takes a while because hoses are heavy and long! When the hose is just about out, at the very last minute the orangutan hooks a single (incredibly powerful) finger around the last segment of the hose and instantly yanks the whole thing back into its cage. You just know the orangutan is laughing its ass off at the stupid human!
Photos live here (warning: reptiles are disproportionately represented ;)
The most special exhibit was a pair of manatees. Manatees are such utterly improbable animals. They look like they couldn't possibly survive in the wild (well, I guess they aren't doing a particularly good job of it, but only because of people). One of the manatees was rescued by Sea World personnel after a boat mangled her tail, and many surgeries were performed to save her. Manatees usually rely on their extraordinarily powerful tails to propel them through the water and they don't use their flippers much, but a zookeeper pointed out that if you watch the injured manatee you can see that she uses her flippers a lot more than her companion. When I asked if they are smart, the keeper said she didn't know but that she'd observed one adult manatee help nudge a reluctant baby manatee into the bigger tank with the adults. I also watched one manatee seemingly groom the other.
I struck up a conversation with the orangutan keeper as well. I'd heard that orangutans were extremely intelligent and legendary escape artists who had been known to pick locks. The keeper more than confirmed what I'd heard. She said that she regularly finds straw in the locks of their enclosure (!), and that in her opinion the orangutans are the smartest of all the apes. The other apes (e.g., chimps) are easily distracted (e.g., by a noise or something shiny). But not the orangutans -- when they work on a task, their attention stays focused and they will persist. They have incredible memories and will come back to things later. And they learn extremely fast -- can pick up a new word in just 2 days.
And you gotta love this story. The orangutans like to bring sticks into their indoor enclosure and hide them in their "loft". If the keepers leave anything outside the door of their cage, the orangutans will wait until the keeper has gone, use the stick to pull the item into their enclosure, and then stash it away in their loft. Their favorite items are garden hoses! When they want to have fun, they bring the stolen garden hose down from the loft and display it to a keeper. The annoyed zookeeper then painstakingly pulls the hose through the bars of the cage -- this takes a while because hoses are heavy and long! When the hose is just about out, at the very last minute the orangutan hooks a single (incredibly powerful) finger around the last segment of the hose and instantly yanks the whole thing back into its cage. You just know the orangutan is laughing its ass off at the stupid human!
Photos live here (warning: reptiles are disproportionately represented ;)
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Santa Barbara
During my stay in CA, I have asked many people for advice on interesting things to see and places to go in the Los Angeles area. One recommendation that seemed to be on everyone's list was Santa Barbara. However, every time I asked what exactly there was to see in Santa Barbara, the response was always the same: the person would pause, stare blankly ahead for a few seconds, and then shrug and simply say, "It's nice."
Curiosity finally got the better of me, so I drove to Santa Barbara to find out for myself. And I hereby report, with the utmost sincerity, that "It's nice". Very nice!
I now completely understand all the generic responses. There are a lot of things to do and see in Santa Barbara (none of which I did or saw!), including museums, missions, Spanish-style architectured buildings, a zoo, a botanical gardens, etc. (Unfortunately, I was only there for a day, and a short one at that.) But what stands out is that the area is very pretty and has a smaller and more charming, almost "quaint", feel to it than the coastal areas closer to the bustling metropolis of LA.
I spent my day exploring the waterfront area, including Stearns Wharf and The Santa Barbara Harbor. Stearns Wharf is essentially a glorified, extra-wide pier with many stores, restaurants, a Sea Center, and other typical Californian establishments. I happened upon a few Sea Center personnel hauling up clumps of kelp from the ocean. They carefully inspected the kelp for fish and mollusks that might be hiding within, and then snipped off seaweed samples to add to their exhibits. I also learned that Santa Barbara was (and still is) a major commercial fishing area.
A long breakwater wall surrounds the harbor area, and you can walk down a path along the full length of the wall, which is cool except that you run the risk of being soaked by huge waves that regularly break against the wall and dump lots of (slippery) seaweed all over the place. I enjoyed a Wild Kingdom moment when I discovered a small sea lion sitting on the rocks just below the breakwater wall. I jumped up onto the wall to snap some photos, and observed that the sea lion had discolored fur and possible injuries around its head and neck. As I began to worry about the poor fellow, some Harbor Patrol guys showed up with a giant net (which looked eerily like the prototypical dog catcher nets in Sunday morning cartoons!). I asked them if the sea lion was sick, and they replied matter-of-factly: "If we can catch him, then he is." A few minutes later, one guy slowly approached the sea lion and then suddenly lunged at him, trying to trap him in the net. But the sea lion took off like a shot and escaped, swimming off into the ocean with terror in his eyes. Hopefully the sea lion is healthy after all!
Have I mentioned that California is the most dog-friendly place I've ever been? Dogs are everywhere, especially Chihuahuas and other small breeds. In Santa Barbara, I did a few double-takes as I observed some boats with a human family and their dog, and other boats with a dog family and their human.
The full set of pictures can be found here.
Curiosity finally got the better of me, so I drove to Santa Barbara to find out for myself. And I hereby report, with the utmost sincerity, that "It's nice". Very nice!
I now completely understand all the generic responses. There are a lot of things to do and see in Santa Barbara (none of which I did or saw!), including museums, missions, Spanish-style architectured buildings, a zoo, a botanical gardens, etc. (Unfortunately, I was only there for a day, and a short one at that.) But what stands out is that the area is very pretty and has a smaller and more charming, almost "quaint", feel to it than the coastal areas closer to the bustling metropolis of LA.
I spent my day exploring the waterfront area, including Stearns Wharf and The Santa Barbara Harbor. Stearns Wharf is essentially a glorified, extra-wide pier with many stores, restaurants, a Sea Center, and other typical Californian establishments. I happened upon a few Sea Center personnel hauling up clumps of kelp from the ocean. They carefully inspected the kelp for fish and mollusks that might be hiding within, and then snipped off seaweed samples to add to their exhibits. I also learned that Santa Barbara was (and still is) a major commercial fishing area.
A long breakwater wall surrounds the harbor area, and you can walk down a path along the full length of the wall, which is cool except that you run the risk of being soaked by huge waves that regularly break against the wall and dump lots of (slippery) seaweed all over the place. I enjoyed a Wild Kingdom moment when I discovered a small sea lion sitting on the rocks just below the breakwater wall. I jumped up onto the wall to snap some photos, and observed that the sea lion had discolored fur and possible injuries around its head and neck. As I began to worry about the poor fellow, some Harbor Patrol guys showed up with a giant net (which looked eerily like the prototypical dog catcher nets in Sunday morning cartoons!). I asked them if the sea lion was sick, and they replied matter-of-factly: "If we can catch him, then he is." A few minutes later, one guy slowly approached the sea lion and then suddenly lunged at him, trying to trap him in the net. But the sea lion took off like a shot and escaped, swimming off into the ocean with terror in his eyes. Hopefully the sea lion is healthy after all!
Have I mentioned that California is the most dog-friendly place I've ever been? Dogs are everywhere, especially Chihuahuas and other small breeds. In Santa Barbara, I did a few double-takes as I observed some boats with a human family and their dog, and other boats with a dog family and their human.
The full set of pictures can be found here.
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